The Year 2000 and Your Insured Deposits

How can you determine whether your funds are totally insured?

First, if you or your family have less than $100,000 in any one institution, you don’t need to worry about the safety of that money—it’s all completely covered by FDIC insurance.

Even if you have more than $100,000 on deposit, your funds still could be fully protected. That’s because, under the insurance rules, money held in different types of ownership accounts (joint accounts, retirement accounts, etc.) is separately insured up to $100,000. The insurance rules can be complex, and determining your insurance coverage with several accounts totaling more than $100,000 sometimes can be tricky. Here are sources of assistance:

•    Insurance specialists in the FDIC’s Division of Compliance and Consumer Affairs. Call (800) 934-3342 or (202) 942-3100. If you are hearing-impaired, call (800) 925-4618 or (202) 942-3147. Consumers also may write to FDIC Consumer Affairs, 550 17th Street, NW, Washington, DC 20429. Or, you can send your question in an e-mail to consumer@fdic.gov.

•    The Electronic Deposit Insurance Estimator (EDIE), a new Internet service from the FDIC that allows you to quickly and easily check whether your accounts at one institution exceed the insurance limit. You can find EDIE by going to the FDIC’s Internet site (www.fdic.gov) and clicking on “Consumer News.”

•    The FDIC booklet “Your Insured Deposit,” which was recently updated. This booklet is available free of charge from banks and savings institutions or from the FDIC’s Public Information Center. “Your Insured Deposit” and other basic descriptions of FDIC insurance coverage also are available on the Internet at www.fdic.gov.

•    A customer service representative at your bank or savings institution.